I am not an atheist.

Ok. I am going to be very honest here. I was raised as a Unificationist (semi-Christian movement for world peace). And I've mostly enjoyed being a part of that movement/religion, but I've often come to this point in life where I really want to learn about ALL kinds of people's beliefs.

Growing up, "atheist", was always a term used with scorn or disdain. I however, feel that is unnecessary judgment. I've been reading many discussions on this website and it's so wonderfully fascinating to me!

I'm not comfortable with raising my children with any specific form of belief shoveled down their throats, be it evolution, the Bible, Divine Principle, etc. I would wish my children can grow up in a natural surrounding, outdoors and really develop their own understandings of the spirit of the world, and the love in people's hearts...

I don't consider myself atheist, or any kind of "theist" in general. But I do love to learn, and I really enjoy hearing people speak from the heart of what they believe.

Replies to This Discussion

"I'm not comfortable with raising my children with any specific form of belief shoveled down their throats, be it evolution, the Bible, Divine Principle, etc."

Hi Yara,

I just wanted to disagree a little bit with the above statement. Evolution isn't a belief in the same way as the other things in that sentence are. It would be like saying that you didn't want to shove math or biology or any subject in school down their throat. Evolution is both a fact and theory and has more evidence than anyone should hope for to back it up. The bible and divine principle? Not so much.

Hi Yara, just to reiterate what Chad said, evolution is science and science describes our reality. There is no harm, and much to be gained, in teach your children about science.

To your religion point, I whole heartedly agree. Children should be raised to think for themselves. I was raised like that and so were my children. I'm an atheist but I didn't even know the word existed until a christian "accused" me of such when I was a teenager. My kids are young adults, one atheist and one deist, and they didn't know my position until they were adults.

All it would take is one generation of parents not indoctrinating their kids to marginalize religion. The stories are so hopelessly outrageous that very few thinking adults would buy them.

Thank you Chad, for pointing that out! I didn't read over what I had written the first time, and I appreciate your opinion. :)

And to Graeme, I am a big fan of science, and have always enjoyed studying it, even though I was taught from a young age the Biblical version of how the wold was created. I think evolution is brilliant, and don't want to pressure my children into learning the way I was taught.

Being truthful and honest with children about the way the world actually is (yes, it did evolve) is not pressuring, it is teaching. Children need to be taught things in order to survive.

Pressuring someone is when you use a louder voice, or coercion, threats, bribes, etc. to accept something that you are unable to provide supporting facts for or explain. "Be a christian and you'll get a cookie" instead of "Here is some supporting evidence for my position" etc.

"I don't consider myself atheist, or any kind of "theist" in general. But I do love to learn, and I really enjoy hearing people speak from the heart of what they believe."

It sounds like you are a skeptic, which is admirable. To be clear, theist simply means having belief in a god and atheist means lacking a belief so it should be pretty easy to determine if you are theist or not.

Welcome to the club :) What are you interested in right now? I bet some atheists got to learning science because they wanted to arm themselves against religious bull-, yet in the process forgot to appreciate the science. Enjoy the experience, naturalist/skeptic/whatever you call yourself!

My son is 22 this year, and as he was growing up, he was shown both Methodism and Paganism (neither of these the fundie variety) from myself and my wife. We didn't force him down either route, just let him assimilate them and compare them, answering any questions he had etc etc.

At about 15, he decided he was an atheist, which, to be honest, quite pleased me, though I myself was more of a Pagan at that time.

Hi Yara,
I am afraid you have been mislead to believe that Evolutionary theory is equivalent to religous theory. It is not. Evolution is based on facts (stuff, you can test and demonstate to be true). Religion does not require and proof at all, in fact it discourages it by asserting that blind faith is a virtue. I am not trying to tell you that your particular religion (and there are multitudes depending on where you live) is wrong, just to open your mind to what constitutes real evidence. If you are only interested in what feels good, then science and truth cannot help you.

Evolution is not a belief, it's scientific fact. It's like saying your not going to raise them with the belief that the earth is round. But in regards to religion...do what my parents did...lay all religions on the table...explain each one..and should they pick fine..also lay atheism on the table. Nothing wrong with LEARNING what choices we are making before we choose them. So many kids are indoctrinated once they leave the birth canal, it's a shame and they never can escape because their minds have been poisoned.

Yara,
I love what you have shared. I share the same feelings of wanting my children to experience the world naturally and to develop their individual beliefs and ideals based on the beauty and truth of Mother Earth. Thank you so much for sharing. - Kate